Court Set To Hire Creole Interpreter

The Palm Beach County Court system is planning to hire a full-time Creole- speaking interpreter to handle increased demand for translating for Haitians, Court Administrator Dan L. Wiley said.

Wiley said the position, which will be advertised formally in early October, will pay $15,500 a year.

In the past, he said, the court system drew from a pool of about 10 Creole speakers who worked when needed. Such an arrangement no longer works because more and more Haitians are involved in the court system, he said.

Until recently, the courts could get away with using part-time Creole interpreters because, though they were needed daily, they were not needed for more than a few minutes a day, Wiley said.

``Now, demand is beyond 10 minutes a day,`` he said.

He said the courts already employ two full-time Spanish-language interpreters and have a pool of about 50 additional interpreters.